Millions of people worldwide go camping each year to experience the outdoors away from the comforts of city life. Although part of the attraction of camping is “roughing it”, there is a certain minimal level of comfort which many people like to maintain in order to have a pleasant experience. Sleeping is one activity which is hard to perform well without such a minimal comfort level. The surface upon which a camper sleeps can be very important in determining the level of comfort. In order to isolate the sleeper from the hardness and irregularities of the ground, it has become the practice of many campers to use an air mattress, which is basically a thick flat rubber balloon which can be interposed between the sleeper's sleeping bag and the ground.
There may be certain problems associated with using a sleeping bag with a separate air mattress. As a sleeping person turns in his sleep, the bag, which may be made of nylon or some other somewhat slippery material, may tend to slide off of the air mattress. In response to these problems there have been attempts to make a sleeping bag with an integral air mattress, so that they will not separate during sleep-time movements. However, there may be additional problems with sleeping bag which has an air mattress permanently attached. As with all balloon-like structures, punctures are a danger. Although an air mattress may be patched to repair punctures, there may come a time when further repair is not worth the effort, and it is desirable to replace the mattress. For mattresses which are integrally formed, or permanently attached, replacement may be difficult without destroying the overall equipment.
Also there may situations, where a removable air mattress would be desirable from a weight standpoint, or for use in cabins, where the bag is useful as a blanket, but an air-cushion is not necessary.
Thus there is a need for a sleeping bag which includes an attachable air mattress, but which has an air mattress which is easily detachable, and replaceable in case of damage, or when an air-cushion feature is not desired.